Post Nuzzling
by Ikasury
Summary: Its the final hours before they hit Earth, and Garrus and Tali 'try' to share an intimate moment despite being 'interrupted' by their Commander... unfortunately, during 'post nuzzling' certain 'other' things decide to 'interrupt' them as well...


**A/N:** ugh... what the hell is wrong with me... i spend 5 hours trying to pop out a chapter for something 'else', chalking up about 2-2.5k, get bored, try to read something else (an ME fic) get about two sentences in (and this is really two sentences from the LAST time i left this same fic... so STILL in the middle of the same chap since 'Locks and my head just pops up and its like 'BOOM!' suddenly ability to put that weird idea i had into and actual story... i will also blame it being 1am when i started and its currently bordering on 7am... and i'm 9k in on this one... my wrists hurt...

Where in the flying hells does this idea come from? really, you can insert it right after the Commander leaves Tali and Garrus when you 'walk in' on them, or for an easier comparison since i 'tried' to keep my Commander out but she likes to invade things, that same spot in 'Should have Installed Locks', as soon as the door closes this is where this picks up... i suppose a 'certain' someone complained i should add 'snarky comments' at the 'end' of that section of that one, and i had to explain to them why i didn't... namely, this idea...

and oh, the insanity my brain can come up with, this is ACTUALLY rather serious, i'm surprised in myself for managing that... course while i'm writing this i ALSO had to deal with all the emotional baggage so maybe that helped, maybe not, who knows...

**Dis:** Bioware owns this business called Mass Effect (3) i just got L2 :3

ENJOY!

* * *

Post Nuzzling…

As the door to the main battery closed and Commander Shepard had just left, Garrus purred to himself as he nuzzled closer to Tali. Sure, there was imminent 'doom' hanging over the entire ship with the idea of _finally_ fighting the Reapers back on Earth, but at the moment that was as far away from his mind as possible. Hell, even the latest model sniper rifle with quantum stabilizers and ultra-red scope couldn't pull him away from his intimate thoughts of the Quarian in his arms right now.

To help prove his point, his mandibles chittered 'happily' causing the young woman to giggle behind her mask. Sure it was through a rebreather, synthesizer, and universal translator but he absolutely _loved_ the sound of her giggling. It was just so… _Tali_ that giggle. Okay, even _he_ knew he wasn't the greatest romantic, the one time he _tried_ to hit on the Commander had resulted in her nearly kicking his ass… but that sounded stupidly corny. He wondered if she'd like him saying that…

"What are you thinking about?" he leaned back just enough to see that her glowing eyes were wrinkled like she was smiling. He decided he liked it when she smiled…

"Just enjoying you giggle," there was that purring chuckle in his chest he pulled her a little closer, enjoying just looking at her, trying to find those hidden features behind that foggy glass.

She scoffed, pretending to be insulted but he could hear the playfulness in her voice, "Women _laugh_ Vakarian," she poked him with her middle digit, "Not giggle…"

He gave a deeper growl, mandibles twitching in that Turian smirk, "_My_ woman giggles," he leaned in closer to her mask, resting his forehead on it, "and I like it..."

He liked to think that her silence meant she was blushing as those glowing eyes turned away and her fingers fidgeted against his chest plate. There was just something so _cute_ about Tali being embarrassed… he guessed this is what Shepard meant when she said she liked to blow off steam by tripping the young engineer up and getting her all flustered, it was rather enjoyable.

"That's just so cute," he chuckled in his chest, raising his maw to kiss the top of her helmet, not wanting to smudge anything on the glass but was sure his point was made when the woman shivered.

"_Bosh'tet_," she said lowly poking him in the chest again, he could just imagine her blushing.

"Hmhmhm," he chuckled nuzzling further down, hands decidedly wondering a bit, "Why what kind of language is that for a young woman your age?" he knew he was being a bastard but he was suddenly reminded of her when they'd first met, back when she was on her pilgrimage and he was in C-Sec, that was only a few years ago yet in his memories it almost seemed like they were children by comparison. Back then Tali hardly swore, was all spunky and nervous and he had a pretty face and was a roughish little prick fed up with rules. How did Shepard turn them into a team capable of fighting off swarms of Heretical Geth?

"Careful Vakarian," she had that smirking tone to her voice, poking him in the chest with one hand while the other absently traveled of its own accord, "I have a shotgun, and at this range mine's much more effective…

Ooh, she had him there, his mandibles fidgeted, loving this snarky spunk she got as she had gotten 'older'. He wondered vaguely if it would be better say 'more experienced' but even that didn't seem right. "So evil…" he purred in that threatening way, looking straight into her helmet, "I definitely like that…"

He could see that crinkle in her eyes, that wiser smirk she got with 'experience' and confidence. She poked him again and made to slip away, he could just _hear_ the word 'Bosh'tet' on her lips as if wanting to slip out.

The Quarian didn't get very far as the Turian pressed forward, now somewhat nuzzling her from behind, he liked this too; despite the suit she was still beautiful physically in his opinion. Maybe it was her edgier personality she got after they'd all been separated, after they'd all 'grown up' some, maybe it was the air of command she could now muster on the fly since she _was_ an Admiral of the Quarian fleet, and maybe it was just the fact that underneath all that she was still nervous, twitchy, cute Tali'Zorah nar Rayya from her pilgrimage and it all just translated to him as something worth having, wanting, finding beautiful. Turians didn't normally put much into beauty, theirs was a Spartan existence, rules and war were their bedtime stories, and no one ever really taught them all these oddities about other species until they got out to the Citadel and saw it for themselves. So no, he had no real idea why he found the woman so attractive, even if it took this long for him to admit it… maybe he was just awkward with women, Shepard had said enough a few times they went drinking…

"Careful," there was a warning mixed in with the smirk in her tone and the Turian blinked not understanding. He felt her gloved hand on one of his talons wrapped around her stomach and he was sure his scales flushed. He must have held her tighter then he realized…

"S-sorry," he gave one of those half-hearted I'm-an-idiot-and-embarrassed chuckles, "Little too excited I suppose," he nuzzled into her shoulder wondering if she could see the heat one his scales.

She giggled, and the hand on his talons openly rubbed them as she just leaned into his imposing form, "Suppose I have to forgive you," she patted his talons and he could tell she was smiling at him from the tone of her voice, "Wouldn't want you to go off fighting Reapers with a broken heart…"

He purred a chuckled as he squeezed her tighter, minding his talons, "Thought you just wanted me for my _body_, hmm?"

Her shoulders moved as he heard her giggle, he was hoping to embarrass her but it seemed 'older' Tali was talking, but he could still imagine a blush across her face, "Well…"

She didn't get to finish whatever she was saying as the male Turian held her as close as possible, moving his hands, one staying on her stomach and the other traveling down her thigh as he purred quite loudly into her neck. He _had_ hoped to get a squeak or something out of her, reestablishing 'cute' Tali but instead she responded like a woman, one hand holding his at her stomach while the other reached up and trailed along his fringe. It took an interesting amount of will power to hold his talons out so as not to puncture her suit.

Then he heard that giggling again…

And he _knew_ she was playing with him, "Evil…" that hand traveled down the back of his neck and sent a shiver through his body he was sure she could feel through her suit. He was sure, no, _knew_ she was grinning evilly at him, those glowing eyes of hers crinkled sinisterly…

Whatever happened next completely slipped his mind, Garrus was _pretty sure_ he had made to move that hand on her thigh to more _intimate_ places on her colorful suit, only for when it so much as twitched her omnitool flared to life and shocked the hell out of the hand on her stomach. He was sure a decidedly 'unmanly' sound escaped him as he growled removing his hands from the woman.

"Garrus?" Tali seemed just as surprised as him, she turned towards him and he could hear the worry in her voice, along with the confusion as she looked down at her omnitool.

"Didn't know Quarians were booby-trapped," he tried to snort a chuckle but with the zap to his hand he was currently trying to shake feeling back into it. Damn, who knew making a move on Tali was harmful? He's made it past the shotgun so he'd thought he was safe. He eyed her omnitool with squinted grey-in-black eyes.

He watched as her glowing eyes blinked as well, her head tilting in that way that said she was just as confused, "Not normally, no…" her other hand raised up and started hit a few keys on the holographic device, trying to find out what had caused the odd 'surge'. It had to be a coincidence right?

"Tali," both of their attentions went to the disembodied voice of EDI over the speakers.

Garrus twitched his mandibles, that was 'odd' right? EDI didn't usually bother people during... _private_ moments…

Tali looked up at nothing, omnitool still lit up as her head tilted slightly, "Y-yes EDI?" she sounded just as confused as he was.

"Tell your 'son' to get out of my systems…" the AI sounded completely serious, not a hint of 'joking' in her voice, but that could only mean she was telling the truth, but that would mean… wait, what?

Instead of immediately 'denying' the AI's words the Quarian engineer just sighed deeply, "Sorry EDI," she looked back down at her omnitool intently, pressing keys with practiced ease and speed unseen from anyone else, "What was he doing this time?"

What?

The AI chuckled, finding this all rather amusing, "Appearently trying to get control of ventilation in the main battery," if that damn program could smirk now was definitely the time, "I think I can understand why… hmhmhm."

Garrus noticed her glowing eyes close behind her mask as if frustrated. The words 'son' and 'this time' still not making the right connections in the Turian's mind so he just continued to stare very confused.

The Quarian woman seemed to growl and speak a curse in her native language to herself before something came out that he could understand, "… told him not to do anything to endanger anyone…"

If Garrus wasn't going completely insane at the moment what next came over the speakers sounded like Geth computer speak. He blinked.

Tali sighed her shoulders slumping.

"He says he was only trying to knock the man…" was that a snicker from the AI? "_Assaulting_," definitely a snicker, "you out so you could '_get away_'," Okay, he must have been going crazy because EDI sounded like she was enjoying herself and that _was_ Geth chatter and she was translating it and…

"Little _Bosh'tet_," again that normally adorable frustrated growl from the Quarian woman, "He should know I wouldn't _let_ anyone _assault_ me!"

More Geth chatter…

EDI was so snickering…

And Tali sighed deeply.

Garrus' mandibles were still and his jaw was just hanging open, not sure where he should be looking so settled his eyes on the woman he _was_ involved with, "Tali, I think I'm going crazy," he watched as her head popped up and her glowing eyes were blinking at him as if just noticing him. This didn't help, he ran a hand over his fringes, "I thought I heard EDI speaking about a 'son' of… _yours_," her hands did that adorable fidgeting thing they did when she got nervous and she wasn't denying it, that wasn't 'good' right? "And that was Geth chatter… right?" he was very confused, very, very confused…

"Well…" she looked away while poking her fingers together.

That was _not_ the response he was looking for…

The Turian just stared.

"You see…" those lovely glowing eyes of her rose, looking at him sincerely through her mask…

Then her omnitool flared, popping out the digital blade with dangerous zappy electricity between the blades as simultaneously an 'orange' Chik'Tikka shimmered to life and headed his way, also covered in dangerous zappy electricity.

Garrus felt his eye twitch as he backed away from the off-colored drone, "By the Spirits!" he looked around for anything to throw at the thing, vaguely reminding himself something was wrong since _normally_ Tali's drone was pink… of course _NORMALLY_ the damn thing didn't summon itself and come after him for no _damn __**reason!**_

"L2! Stop this at once!" as soon as the woman's voice rang out in the room, and Garrus was uncomfortably plastered to a wall with an orange ball of digital death a few inches from him everything seemed to stop. The drone shimmered a moment, and just as he thought he was safe, it released a long range shock that had him twitching for a good long minute before it fluttered out of existence.

In his momentary relapse and becoming acquainted with the floor of the main battery, he could have sworn he heard Geth Chatter, Quarian cursing and EDI laughing…

"Keelah! Garrus, GARRUS!" something was violently shaking his shoulder and as soon as the Turian opened his grey-in-black eyes the first thing he saw were those wide glowing eyes filled with what he hoped was concern.

"Spirits you're beautiful when you care," his voice sounded rough but he chalked that up to being electrocuted by a rampaging glowing orange ball of death…

"_Bosh'tet!_" she punched him in the arm.

"Ow," he couldn't help the chuckle, for some reason this whole situation was registering as 'funny' to him, "I'm injured here," he laughed as he could see her eyes widen slightly, feel her hands fidgeting in that nervous way of hers, "Thanks by the way, always need an evening shocking to test my levity…"

He watched her eyes crinkle in anger, just knowing she wanted to call him 'bosh'tet' again and probably punch him too. Instead she took a deep breath and let it out, looking at him worried, "Are you alright?"

He chuckled, "Course I am, I've lived through worse," he watched as her eyes traveled to the scar covering half his face, her hand reaching up to trace it, those beautiful glowing eyes of hers remaining sincere, no pity as far as he could tell, and something about that truly did lift his spirits. His hand closest raised and held the one tracing his scar as he nuzzled into it purring lightly, appreciating her concern.

"I'm so sorry," her eyes were back on his, truly looking apologetic, "I didn't think he'd… well, react like this if I-I…"

He stopped nuzzling her hand, just staring at her, "Mind telling me who 'he' is," he looked at the ceiling, "Doesn't seem fair the ship knows and I don't," that Turian smirk graced his face as he tried to alleviate that worried look in her eyes, "Thought I was trying to be your 'boyfriend' or something and I don't know about this… 'son' of yours?" he arched and eye and with the way she tensed could imagine her blushing…

"It-its not what you think," yep, definitely flustered as she looked away, "He's just a… hmm?" he watched her eyes blink, that engineer's mind of hers working trying to find the right way to describe whatever he didn't know, "I suppose you _could_ call him an adolescent Geth?"

"Adolescent _Geth_?" it was his turn to blink incredulously at her. This was Tali, she had hated Geth for as long as he'd known her, the only time that ever faltered was in concern to Legion and even then that had taken over a _year_ for her to truly accept him.

She removed her hand from his face and was fidgeting again; obviously this subject was something she wasn't… '_used_' to talking about?

The Turian pulled himself up, sitting straight as he grabbed one of her hands, the one _NOT_ having her omnitool, to help her calm down a little, "So, tell me about this… _Geth_ of yours?" he wasn't smirking, of course he wasn't…

And she didn't shove his shoulder trying to get him to stop, "Bosh'tet," her hand squeezed his appreciating the support, "You know how my people and the Geth are now living in peace on the homeworld, right?" he gave a nod, having helped with that mission and watching what their friend had done for his people and hers. She fidgeted again, not releasing his hand, "Well, did you also know that the Geth are helping my people adapt to Rannoch's environment in hopes that even in this generation we can live outside our suits?

Garrus' mouth opened slightly, the implication of that was staggering and at first his only response was squeezing her hand tighter before words became available, "H-how…?"

She looked down bashfully, "Well," her other hand fidgeted, drawing circles on his leg, "Essentially the inhabit our suits and slowly convert the environment of our suits to the outside, along with acting like viruses to 'expose' us," she looked at him while raising her one hand not in his and curling the middle digit similar to the human expression of 'air quotes', "without the real threat of a virus, we get symptoms similar to getting 'sick' only with little chance of actually harming us…"

The Turian blinked…

"A-anyway," she was so blushing with that cute embarrassed clip in her voice, "So with Geth in our suits helping us adapt, and them helping to rebuild our homeworld, Aunty Raan and Prime 0118 have somewhat suggesting 'partnering' between our… _'species_'," Garrus could only blink, impressed she was admitting so much, sure he knew those final moments with Legion had pretty much changed her entire outlook on his 'species' but for her to say it was still impressive, "to strengthen relations and help adapt ourselves so nothing like the Morning War happens again, and…"

The turian quirked an eye, amused, "Morning War?" he chuckled with a slight smirk, "I thought that's what Legion and those 'pesky' Geth called their uprising…" he knew it was in bad taste to joke the dead, but he did have respect for the sentient Gestalt of programs that had been there comrade, and what better way to honor him?

It was actually more funny that she glared at him, seemingly offended, "They deserve better than what we'd taught ourselves for generations…" she looked away in thought, he honestly thought she never expected to say such a thing, but well, things change…

Garrus smiled, squeezing her hand, "I miss him too sometimes…" he wondered what happened when she cried, being in that suit and all, knowing she had cried on Rannoch when Legion sacrificed himself to bring about sentience for his people.

"Heh," he could hear the tug of tears in her light chuckle, "That _bosh'tet_ had to be the hero in the end didn't he… heh," she squeezed his hand tighter, "I sometimes think he did it just to prove a point to me…"

Garrus let go of her hand and pulled her into a one armed hug, nuzzling the top of her helmet sincerely, he knew the whole affair had been tough on her. Having finally made it to the 'vaulted' homeworld of her people, having fought and watched her own people die on its soil after _finally_ making it there, watching the Reaper tear it apart along with the possessed geth whom thanks to Legion she had questioned all her prejudices about them and started giving them a respect as 'people' and not just 'damn machines', then the one that had changed her mind had to go and die, ironically paving the way for peace for her people and his after 300 years of war… it was a crushing experience he knew he could never fully understand, but after watching Palavan burn maybe the next time he step on it after this was all over he would know just a fraction of how she felt…

He felt her shiver in his grasp but she shook her head, that determination that made her able to stand as an Admiral coming through, "B-but, as I was saying," she leaned into him being comfortable in his arms, "When Aunty Raan told me about the suggestion I knew she wanted me to 'join in', and I knew she'd take Prime 0118 at her partner," she tilted her head up, those glowing eyes looking at him, "He was the Prime that first spoke to us after Legion…" He gripped her hand with his other one telling her without words it was okay. She shook her head, "I told her I couldn't," she gave a humorless chuckle and Garrus was reminded about how he had been previously thinking they'd grown so old so quickly in such a short time, "I honestly thought at the time I couldn't, because…" he could tell she had a tender sad smile on her face by the sound of her voice and he held her a bit tighter, "if I did, Legion would have been it…"

He clinched his jaw, holding her tighter, not sure how he should feel about that. He knew the Quarians and Geth were 'symbiotic' species, they accepted things, even down to the cellular level, it was their real problem with being outside their suits, their physiology _accepted_ all viruses, bacteria and all microscopic things that normally killed people, because on their world they had been beneficial, while everywhere else in the universe they killed you. it was rather ironic in that aspect that they were the only people willing to shirk galactic law to _create_ another species as bent on 'symbiosis' as they were, even if thing initially turned out bad. He wondered, during the events on Rannoch and with the Primes and with Legion in general, if Quarians understood that they had essentially made a species just as 'accepting' as them… and probably _because_ no other species in the universe was like them? Well, humans seemed to be coming along similarly, but at the time they had been rather alone in their opinions of symbiosis instead of just 'getting along'…

So really, he shouldn't be feeling this irrational sense of protective jealousy at a 'dead' mechanical construct because if he'd lived he'd have been her 'partner'. It wasn't the same as what _he_ was trying to achieve with the Quarian woman, an actual relationship of mutually consenting, biological beings with the possibility of little dextro kids in the future… right? They would have been like… what was that human beast Shepard always complained about having on the ship… a dog? Right? Well not really, but similar companionship he supposed…

"So…" he drew the word out, rubbing her back and not completely sure about how he felt about this at the moment but felt being 'supportive' for her was better than anything else, "I take it you didn't stick to that decision?" she raised her head and blinked at him, he blinked back, "The Geth chatter," he gave that smug Turian smirk, "I believe you yelled out something like 'L2 stop this!'before everything when completely crazy?" he gave a chuckle trying to remain passive-supportive.

Her hands fidgeted again, "L2 is his shorthand," when he quirked an eye at her she elaborated, "Short for 'Legion 2.0'…" the nervous way she pressed her fingers together wasn't exactly comforting…

Garrus had to push the growl down his throat, he didn't need to go making her feel _more_ uncomfortable about this subject… it wasn't his time to be judgmental or anything about an _adolescent_ Geth named after her would-have-been-partner-if-he-hadn't-died Geth… of course not… "Wait…" he looked down at her, "EDI called it your 'son'?" due to her being in his arms he definitely felt her whole body fidget, "Tali… what aren't you telling me?"

Her fingers were at it again and this time she wasn't even looking at him, "Well, after I declined the offer from Aunty Raan, Prime 0118 sent me a message," she squirmed as he continued to stare, "he had the entire Geth consciousness search out fragments of Legion's original program…" her voice lowered, "I think he knew why I wouldn't accept Aunty Raan's proposal… probably because all Geth had a part of Legion in them now in order to obtain awareness… so maybe they had fragments of his memories…"

"Remember he did send constant reports to them back when he was on the ship," the Turian said flatly, he really was trying hard not to sound like a jealous prick, but well… he wasn't the best with his own emotions, "And I'm _sure_ you were at the top of his reports being the only 'Creator' contact they had that wasn't shooting at him…"

"I almost did," her voice was so low, so meek he was almost not sure he heard it.

Garrus blinked, tilting his head down looking at her surprised, he'd never heard anything about this…

"Before we went after the Collectors, after my trial…" she seemed to curl up into him, wanting the support she needed for all these 'confessions', "Legion was there with us on the Alarai, he _saw_ all the things my father did… t-to his…" he hugged her close, screw feeling jealous for the stupid program, she needed his support to get over all this bullshit then he'd sure as hell be here for her, "Oh Garrus, if I… if I had never met Legion, if I hadn't 'dealt' with him before then, saw _his_ confliction about the Heratics and his own people, I don't think I would have _cared_ what my father was really doing to them on that ship!" she shook her head hard, "I-I mean I didn't really, at the time, I was furious, with the trial and all, and the prospect my father could be dead, bu-but also with the idea of what he could have… what he _did_ do… against the Geth, and to the Fleet…" she raised one hand to her mask, as if to wipe away tears that were behind its foggy glass, "I can't imagine what Legion must have been thinking… what kind of monsters _we_, his creators were, despite his people still being open to peace with us so long as they could 'live'… heh," she gave a humorless laugh, lowering her hand, "He and all the Geth were so simple, wanting _one_ thing and we were so foolish and bloodthirsty and _hurt_ for something we couldn't even remember… yet they could _ALL_ remember what _really_ happened perfectly, they all _knew_ and we didn't, and they were still _willing_ to try peace…" she sighed again, giving that half-hearted laugh, "We were the real _Bosh'tets_…"

The Turian just rubbed her back, letting her all but lay on him, hell she could if she really wanted, he'd had no idea any of _that_ had gone on… at the time he'd honestly thought Shepard was insane constantly putting Tali and Legion on missions together, now he could see that she had been trying to get them to get along, the hard away, hoping they could find some equilibrium that would eventually help their people. Well, whatever the human woman did seemed to work, otherwise he wouldn't be sitting here, on the main battery deck holding Tali who was crying over Legion and all the past mistakes all because he'd been attacked by…

"Tali, you were saying," he tried to sound as gentle as possible, maybe getting her to continue would help clear up why her drone and omnitool attacked him. From what she'd said already he could piece together what was going on but there was still crucial information that had him 'worried'.

"Oh, right," she sniffled, laying on him, "a-after that, the Alarai, the Trial, Shepard making a big show and promoting peace as always," there was a half-chuckle, a bit lighter then what she'd given earlier, "We got back to the Normandy, and honestly I don't even know how it happened, I just remember going over my omnitool, finding it'd been hacked, tracking it to Legion, and after all I'd been through with my father…" her head lowered as one of her hands tightened, "I was… what's that Earth expression Shepard uses… 'Seeing Red'? I was so angry at '_It_' I'd charged into the AI core putting my pistol barrel on his head threatening to pull the trigger if he so much as _dared_ to send anything about the flotilla back to the Geth…"

Garrus had to be honest with himself, for all of Tali's bluster and 'anti-geth-ism' when they'd first met, and even when he'd seen her again after so long, he'd never honestly thought she'd go so far as to honestly put a hole into their Geth companion… all he could do was stare down at the woman silently and blink…

That kind of bravado was so hot…

"I take it Shepard got there just in time, huh?" there may or may not have been a smirking swell of pride in his voice at the woman, she definitely just got Turian-level badass points for a move like that… even if she was just extremely pissed off for honestly good reasons, but still…

She gave a half-hearted shrug and cocked her head, "What do you think?" he hoped that was a smirk he heard in her voice, he was getting all sad listening to her be emotional and angsty, "She definitely has a way of being at the right place at the _wrong_ time…"

His mandibles fidgeted, "You _wanted_ to pull the trigger?" he was rather surprised to hear her even suggest such a thing, after all the crying and feeling she had been doing over the dead-bot…

Tali was quiet for a good long time, still too, just staring at nothing in front of her.

Garrus blinked at her, surprised, expecting _something_ after all she'd been doing…

"At the time…" her voice came out soft over her external com, "At the time I just wanted to hurt _something_ for all the things I was confused about, all the conflictions running around in my head, everything I knew was wrong, and right, and nothing made sense…" her head tilted down in thought, "And to top it all off my father was dead, a traitor to his people, to me, and here I was, almost exiled on an alien ship _working_ with one of my peoples believed most hated enemies… and he'd not done a _damn_ thing…" he could see both her fists clinch, and he wondered if she was clinching her jaw too, just angry at the memory, "I just… just wanted it to end…" her hands released, "I wanted something to make sense, and he'd done _that_ at just the wrong time," she rolled her shoulders frustrated, "but what's worse… I _actually_ wanted him to do it, just so I could shoot him and his people would know the horrors their _creators_ had in store for them…" both her hands flew to her mask as if to hide in shame, "I'm such a horrible person…"

"No you're not," Garrus held her close, "Killing a man in cold blood because he was a traitorous bastard is what 'horrible' people do, shooting a man in the leg because he bad mouthed you one too many times is what 'horrible' people do," he placed a talon under the chin of her mask, tilting her head up to look at him as he gave her the most sincere look he could muster, "_You_, Tali'Zorah vas Normandy, are not a _horrible_ person…" he leaned down and nuzzled the glass of her mask, wanting so much at that moment to rip the thing off and kiss her for real… maybe, someday…

Her hands were on his upper arms holding them tightly as he held her, she needed him, someone to help console her and all the crazy things that had happened in her life since joining this mission so long ago… all those things that made them grow up so fast, to the point they were old people with half as many years and twice as many stories to tell with three times that many bad ones…

"Thank you Garrus," she finally said, laying her head on his chest, breathing deeply and sighing still holding the upper part of his arms.

"Anytime," he laid his head on hers, arms never moving from around her, holding her, protecting her even though he knew she didn't need it as much as he needed to feel like he was doing it, "Anytime…"

It was quiet in the main battery for a while as the two just sat on the floor, the Turian holding the Quarian…

Then he chuckled.

Tali's helmet rose slightly, noting her curiosity…

He continued chuckling a moment before leaning back just enough to look at her straight in the face, one talon coming up and trailing the glass of her mask, "You still didn't tell me about this 'son' of yours?" his Turian smirk grew as he watched her eyes widen and he could imagine the blush spreading all across her face, he grinned, showing his pointy teeth with his mandibles wide, "Going to finally explain that, hmm?"

She looked down, embarassed, as her fingers fidgeted together, "I-I didn't mean to get off track…"

He gave her a squeeze, rest his head on hers again, still grinning, "I don't mind," he nudged his head against hers before pulling back to look at her again, "Though it would be nice to know why and perhaps _how_ I got attacked by your drone without your command?" yep, he could definitely see that blush on her face he knew had to be there as he narrowed his grey-in-black eyes, "It _wasn't_ you, right?"

"What!" her head popped up so face she almost hit him in the chin, but her protest was too amusing to really care about the near slug to the face, "Keelah! No! L2 just…" she stopped and her eyes went wide and he was sure she was once again blushing up a storm, considering she still had to explain this little '_Legion 2.0_' of hers…

Garrus quirked an eye at her, asking the obvious question they'd been _trying_ to get to since he was knocked out…

She sat up straight and fiddled with her fingers again, "how far did I get?"

He gave a chuckle, "Something about fragments of Legion's original program?" he still felt a bit of a jab in his chest at the dead-bot, but after just listening to the morally demanding choices the woman had gone through with the thing he couldn't put his all into being '_totally'_ jealous about the Geth's would-have-been relationship with the woman.

"R-right," she curled her hands into fists on her knees to try and stop her nervous habit, the Turian gave it about ten minutes at best, "Prime 0118 had the Geth consciousness try to duplicate or find as much of Legion's original program when it heard I had declined their 'partnering' idea," she fidgeted, "At first, according to Aunty Raan, he seemed to be… '_upset_' that I had declined, they seem to hold me in rather high regard…" he noticed her glowing eyes bat towards him and got an idea about what she was going to say, "I-I suppose you're right about Legion sending lots of data about me to them…"

"Hmp," the Turian crossed his arms had gave a lazy smirk, "The first Quarian-Creator in three centuries that _didn't_ shoot at him, naaa," he waved his hand in a blasé fashion, "Couldn't be any special reason like that…"

She punched him in the arm…

He chuckled, rubbing it like it actually hurt, which it did but he wasn't going to tell her that, he'd lose manly points in her eyes, "Ow, that hurt…" okay, so maybe he was being sarcastic but still, it really hurt…

"_Bosh'tet_," he was so glad to hear that smirk in her voice… even if he had to get punched for it…

He grinned, mandibles fluttering in appreciation of a job well done.

He could see through the glass of her helmet as her glowing eyes rolled, "So… _maaaaybe_… I was something of an influence to them…" she crossed her arms in a huff, before looking down in deep thought, "Though it may have been more because of the last thing I said to Legion before he… he died…"

Garrus hadn't been close enough to hear what had _really_ occurred in those final moments on Rannoch so all he could do was stare at her concerned, "What did you tell him?"

He could see her eyes crinkle, not in a full blown smile and not in a sarcastic way, but something more personal, something a bit sad, "He asked me if I remembered the question that had started this all, before he had begun the download, before I truly had faith in him, when I was still worried they would kill my people if they obtained full sentience thanks to the Reaper code," it was another one of those emotional scenes he could tell, those deep personal things like she had spoken about before, only this time it seemed to be on the complete opposite end of the spectrum, "I-I begged Legion not to do it, ignoring his question, and telling Shepard to end it…" she have a mirthless laugh, "They didn't, and only now can I appreciate that…" her hands gripped her arms as she pulled in on herself a little bit, "I just remember yelling at the Admiralty to 'cease fire', and actually put my faith into him, hoping his people would be like him and not completely kill us despite all we'd done, with fools like Han'Garral and psychopaths like Daro'Xen," her hands tightened as she shook, he wanted so badly to reach out and hold her again, but this seemed like something she wanted to deal with on her own and he would let her, "And then… right at the end, when _our_ fleets stopped firing, the upload failed and he said 'I must go to them', something in me just… _broke_," all the tension in her shoulders dissipated and they dropped with their burden removed, "he had said 'I', Shepard didn't notice immediately by I did, and it made so much of a difference, then there was what he was going to do, to sacrifice all that he was so his people, _his __**people**_ could have the sentience and consciousness _**he**_ had achieved… so they could truly be free…" she breathed in deeply and sighed, "And I told him, just before he did it, I said 'the answer to your question Legion… was…" her hands dropped to her knees, balled fists as he could tell she was holding back a lot of unexpected emotion,'was 'yes''…"

With that final word it seemed as if all barriers had broken, Garrus' hand reached out and touched her shoulder, feeling through her suit as she shuttered trying to retain control…

He couldn't help but ask, he felt it was extremely important to understand why those words, that _'answer_' was so important to the Geth that they would scourer their entire existence for fragments of the one that sacrificed all for their sentience, "What was the question?"

"Heh," her hand went to her mask again, trying to touch tears through the glass, "the question that started the Morning War, the one that scared my people into a genocidal war…" she hiccupped, giving half-laughs in between at the absurdity of the entire situation,'does this unit have a soul?'"

"Ahh…" that made sense, in a lot of awkwardly profound ways that made a hell of a lot of sense. Tali, the first creator since their 'Morning of Consciousness' to not only _not_ shoot them, but defend them from her own people, _AND_ be their primary 'creator-input' after 300 years to their proverbial messiah gave them the answer they had always been seeking… she, along with Legion, had given them true 'concensus'… it was disturbingly profound now that he thought about how much she played a role in the synthetic species 'history', it was no wonder they want to 'make her happy'… "So I take it they liked that response then…"

"Heh… yea, suppose they did," the false bravado slipped easily into place, trying to get over something so… _heart-wrenching_ couldn't be easy. Garrus' talons slipped easily into her hand, giving it a squeeze as he was _starting_ to understand to subtle differences between how she had felt about Legion and how she felt about him. She pulled her knees up and set her head on them, one arm wrapped around while the other still held his hand, "So, yea, I suppose that was why Prime 0118 did what it did…"

His thumb rubbed along back of her hand, "And what exactly did he do?" he tilted his head when she looked at him, a comical Turian grin on his maw, "I mean, you said he went around the whole of the Geth brain and picked apart with a fine-toothed comb for pieces of Legion, there must have been _some_ reason he did that…"

She let go of his hand and hit him in the shoulder again...

A smirked, rubbing his shoulder, liking her angry over mopey any day, was so much cuter…

She wrapped both arms around her knees, looking away but he could definitely see that crinkle that she was smirking, "Before I left Rannoch he offered me a data core," she fiddled with her omnitool a second and a hologram of what he assumed was the data core she spoke of popped up, "Said it was a mute unit, but contained all the fragments the Geth Consciousness could find of what was purely Legion," she turned the image off, "The fragments weren't really enough to start up a unit, and were all manner of jumbled and barely more than a few lines of code each, but…" she looked at her toes and for a moment looked like a small child, "It was all they had left of him, and I guess it was the closest they could conceive of 'giving away remains', and despite how much that data must have meant to them, they gave it to me…"

Garrus looked ahead. He wasn't familiar with Quarian burial rites, but from the sounds of it she was right, they were giving away Legion's 'remains' to the one person they felt would want them, _his_ Creator, "Suppose you were the closest they thought as family to him, huh?"

He could feel her look at him, probably because of the solemnness of his voice, he was familiar with the ritual, just about every culture had some version, where a warrior died in battle, especially if they were a hero, their next of kin was personally handed their remains by the person in charge. It was something he had done several times in his career, and was sure he would again. He turned and looked at Tali, perhaps the most solemn look she'd ever seen on his normally so sarcastic face as the idea of her one day receiving _his_ remains floated into his mind… that would just be so cruel after all she'd already been through…

He was rather surprised when _she_ reached out and held _his_ hand, as if sensing his thoughts. She gave a half-hearted laugh and turned to look at the floor, "This is just fling, Vakarian…" he could tell her words were cheap and just meant to make him feel better…

He tightened his grip on her hand, a small smirk lighting his face, accepting it, "I'm okay with that…"

The Quarian just shook her head, "Ugh, Keelah! What's wrong with me!" she shouted for no real reason beyond getting rid of this mood they were in, "I keep getting off track!" she shouted before burying her head in her knees.

He couldn't help but grin, she really was adorable at times, "Well, it is a pretty good story, even if it keeps avoiding the parts I want so _desperately_ to know," he shook their joined hands, trying to coax her back to what she was saying.

There was a very audible groan through her mask…

"Come on…" he almost whined, "We're almost there," he chuckled as she continued to act childishly shaking her head in her knees, "Can't be that much more embarrassing…"

"It iiiiissss…" she whined more, not raising her head, "There's a reason EDI calls him my 'son' and I named it 'Legion 2.0'…"

He quirked an eye, oddly his smirk growing instead of falling at the implication, "So what? You and Legion had a night together the rest of us didn't know about and he impregnated your suit?"

The response was immediate, her head shot up, glowing eyes wide and mortified, before she noticed he was giving that shit-eating grin and she slapped him on the arm so hard it _really_ hurt, "_NO!_" If he didn't know any better he could have sworn her eye was twitching similar to how Shepard's did before she went into melt down, "Its-it was… nothing like _that!_" oh she was so flustered underneath that mask. She set her mask flat on her knees and adamantly looked forward, "I just… used the data they gave me and… maybe… sorta… programed a new Geth from it…"

His eye quirked as he turned his maw to stare at her, she _willingly_ programed a… "You… you _made_ a Geth?" he could see her eyes look as far away from him as possible. Garrus couldn't help it, something about how so illegal, so _bad_ that was… was… "I think I'm in love with you…"

"What!" it was Tali's turn to turn to him shocked, blinking wide glowing eyes as the Turian leaned in dangerously close to her…

"I said, Tali'Zorah vas Normandy, that I think I'm in love with you," his smirk was so wide with his mandibles spread he knew there was _no way_ she could take him seriously, even if he was… She had _cared_ so much for someone they all thought she absolutely _hated_ to willingly do what was _still_ considered highly illegal, despite the whole universe crumbling to pieces thing, and insanely difficult and had _succeeded_… it was an amazing feat of technical genius and just had _Tali_ written all over it…

She continued to blink at him, highly confused, "Okay, when I thought to say something about how I had used Legion's fragmented data mixed with my own AI writing skills and essentially _created_ a 'new' Geth, I didn't think _this_ would be the response I would get…" she had to lean back further as the Turian just seemed to advance on the woman, he was practically on top of her by the time she let out a rather pitiful squeak…

"That is so hot…" Garrus was purring again as he had the woman cornered and practically pinned to the floor with his own body.

"Eep!" was Tali's only response as he dropped and nuzzled rather intimately all over her…

Unfortunately, as with what happened the _last_ time this happened, her omnitool flared to life and Garrus got another shock…

"Ack!" his body tensed but this time he was '_prepared_' for it as he leaned on one arm so as not to crush _his_ woman, and grabbed her omnitool, looking at the streaming data with a wicked grin, "Hey you little bastard, just because you're mom wants to have some 'fun' doesn't mean you can shock me every time I get close, got it!"

Surprisingly the 'shocking' stopped… only for a long stream of data to run across the omnitool screen…

Garruss stared at it flatly, not understanding a word of the Quarian gibberish…

Tali on the other hand put her head in her hand…

"I get the feeling he's yelling at me?" the Turian said, letting go of Tali's arm and leaning back just enough so she could fiddle with the thing.

She growled in that special 'I'm mad at my machines' way she did, "You should hear what I have to listen to…" her fingers flew across the digital keyboard and after a sequence he suddenly heard Geth chatter through his visor.

Ironically, he started laughing, "Well damn, he sounds like his Father alright…"

Her glowing eyes narrowed and hit him in the shoulder, "That's not funny you _Bosh'tet_…"

Garrus only grinned, dropping on the smaller woman, laying most of his weight to pinning her as he laid his head quite pleased between the valley of her breasts. His mandibles twitched enjoying himself in his position as his purring started up again…

The Quarian woman just stared at the Turian, not sure what it was he was doing…

He grinned wide and cheeky, moving both arms up along her sides causing her to fidget below him as he moved up her just the slightest, "Well, at least I know where he gets the idea to shock me every time I touch his mom…" he could see her glowing eyes glare at him as he casually brought her hands above her head with his own, enjoying his position a bit too much.

"Careful, I might just let him do worse next time," her eyes gained a wicked smirk, "Or I could let his 'godmother' let him through to controlling this room and venting so I can get this _evil_ assailant off me…"

He quirked an eye, "So that's why EDI knows about him and I don't, I see how this is," he nuzzled her neck, his mandibles fidgeting and while he knew her suit got in the way was delightfully rewarded with a round of giggles from the Quarian woman.

She squirmed, "Stop it, Garrus, you might _actually_ break something…" she squeaked again and he knew she was completely bullshitting him. It was now his mission to find out how many different ways he could get her to giggle and squeal even in her suit…

Her omnitool blipped back to life, code streaming across it, and now Garrus' visor, as they both heard Geth chatter and an eerie orange glow revealed that the drone was back…

Garrus stared at it, blinked and just sighed, "Oh come on…"

Tali snickered, grinning widely with her eyes when he looked back down at her, "I don't think he likes his mother being 'man-handled' by the barbaric Turian…"

An eye quirked,'Barbaric' huh?" he gave a dangerously predatory grin before grabbing her and suddenly flipping them. It took Tali a moment to realize she was on top, and conveniently, shielding Garrus from the drone. She glared down at him to which he just gave that shit-eating grin, "Tactics my dear, we barbarians like to use them…"

Her eyes narrowed on him, but instead of hitting him like he half expected, she went about running her fingers along her omnitool, "Chik'Tikka," suddenly a pink ball of digital energy blipped into life and Garrus had to just stare, eyes wide and not sure what to think with two 'evil' drones now in existence. When his eyes went back up to the Quarian woman he could so see that evil, evil grin in her eyes…

"Umm…" his talons fidgeted on her hips, "Might I ask why you have 'two' drones?" his eyes traveled to both zappy covered balls of digital light, "And why they're both out and looking dangerous…"

Oh she was so smirking, probably enjoying watching him squirm just the smallest bit, "Chik'Tikka is mine," she looked over her shoulder at the orange drone, "That one is _his_," Garrus _knew_ she meant its L2's… but for some reason the _way_ she said it made him wonder if she had actually salvaged Legion's and given it to his son…

Something about this setup just made him all the more nervous…

He tapped his talons on her hips again, "Yes…" he may or may not have gulped, "And about them being out…"

Her eyes narrowed dangerously as her _sinister_ smirk grew before she pressed a button…

When Garrus heard that familiar sound of electricity building up he closed his eyes, expecting to finding himself back into the land of blissful zappy unconsciousness…

Instead he heard Geth chatter and something of an explosion by his tool table…

Opening his eyes he looked around the devious little Quarian woman sitting on top of him and noticed a nice sized explosive burn on his data screens and his tools scattered about. He leaned back and looked up at the deviously smirking Quarian woman with a mild pout on his face, "Was that _really_ necessary…"

She giggled, trailing one hand over his chest, "Let's just say L2's been grounded for a little while," she leaned forward dangerously, and even though it was just her mask, something about the look in her eyes was dangerously sexy, "Now, what was this barbaric Turian trying to do to poor little me?"

His mandibles chittered and a loud growling purr came through his teeth as he reached up and pulled her mask closer to his face, nuzzling it as intently as he could before kissing the bottom part, "I swear, that boy better be like his father and help '_liberate_' his mother from this damn suit before I die or I swear I'm sending him packing to his grandparents…"

All Tali could do was sit up straight while straddling Garrus and laugh her heart out… as weird and strange as this encounter had started out, mixed in with all manner of 'interruptions' be they from their Commander, to the Ship, to her own _illegitimate_ 'son' as EDI loved to call him, Tali couldn't say she'd change it. For the past few hours she had let go of all the things that had been weighing on her heart since this journey began, and even if she died in the next few when they got to Earth, at least she knew now that she had no regrets. She looked down at the purring Turain, and maybe, _juuuust_ maybe if all went well, she'd actually have a future she could enjoy…

* * *

**A/N:** okay, i'll admit right here and now... before that 'Walk-in' scene with Tali/Garrus i shipped Tali/Legion so bloody hard... in fact what i was reading prior to this IS a Tali/Legion ficcy, only one of those few 'makes sense' ones and takes the Data approach and not all the other 'weird' shenanigans i've seen... SO! since i'm such a terrible fangirl (certain people can tell you so :P) i go all out on the psychology of my ships... unfortunately i ALSO cannot say 'no' to cannon, its a rule of mine, toss the ship if its no longer valid, but if, say, the 'option' is still there roll on with it... well i actually thought Bioware did really well with this ship, why? cause it makes sense... Tali and Garrus are the only Dextro Aliens, they're everyone's favorites, they're 'technically' the first two 'required' people you get aside from bloody humans (and in my opinion humans don't count for much in scifi :P sorry, my favorite universe is ALIENS XD) so they're a set up from day one, only BW don't ship it that way because they want you to have the option to pick one of them later... and they ONLY become a legit item if you don't touch either (i know guys, feel your pain, having to resist Tali XD luckily i play a femshep and that's not so hard...) plus in ME1 they were so cute... 'back in the day' when he was pretty and she was the 'kid' of the group... then ME2 comes along, he meets a cannon to the face and gets a chip on his shoulder, and Tali gains a motherf-cking spine to go around flipping off people left and right... aww, they're still so cute (shut up i have different standards then you people -. then we have ME3... and EVERYBODY'S GROWN UP! :D we're all the heads of our respective cultures and kicking ass and taking names and... wait, what? Reapers! f-ck...

and of course We're back on the Normandy, back to being 'normal' people, and 'Hey!' we're still relatively 'grown up' from the last time we all saw each other... and hell, why not? its like Ron and Hermoine getting together at the end of Harry Potter, even HE was like 'wait, i've known you both for 7 f-cking years! where the hell did this come from!' XD

Hero's best friend equal automatic hookup right before final battle... makes perfect sense XD

okay, but yes, this little idea was my 'Staying Faithful' to my original OTP while also accepting and adoring in its own snarky way the cannon :3 plus i think its cute Garrus getting all 'jealous' over 'dead-bot' when really there was never a 'relationship' like THAT... i feel that Geth/Quarian partnering would be the next step in their equal evolution of symbiosis, and quite frankly that'd probably be the ONLY way for organics and synthetics to EVER get along, all because to the Quarians symbiosis is a Genetic Imperative not a pretty 'suggestion'... oh silly Reapers, you had the answer in this cycle and you wanted to destroy it :P

plus, just the IDEA of Tali being a war-widow of sorts, and in such a geeky-techy way, makes me giggle, and Garrus seems like the kind of guy that would accept a kid like that no problem, probably because Turians actually respect their military and see dying in service as an honor and not a burden on the family left behind... -cough- i mean, its stupidly cute :P plus i'm sure he, like the rest of the crew, grew to respect Legion, and come on, just the IDEA of Tali having that little 'piece' of him left behind... -snorts- hehehe... irony is such a b-tch :D plus i can't see the Geth handing over 'Legion's Remains' to anyone but a 'Creator', probably knowing she'd do something stupid like 're-create' it XD that's just, ya know, TOTALLY ILLEGAL! XD and against all her previous actions... right god-mommy EDI? :3

a tad on the citrusy side but i don't think it really got 'bad' anywhere :P i'm so good i'm bad... XD

Comments, Questions, Opposing Views, i especially LOVE critical reviews:D

Till next -salute-waves- Sayounara, Mina!

-Ikasury


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